US election 2012: Clint Eastwood: 'I didn't know what I was going to say'

Clint Eastwood has spoken publicly for he first time since his controversial appearance at the Republican convention, disclosing that he "didn't make up my mind exactly what I was going to say until I said it".

The 82-year-old Oscar winner said he "may have irritated a lot of the lefties" and admitted his performance was "very unorthodox," but said he believed he had got his message across.

He told the Pine Cone: "President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people. Romney and Ryan would do a much better job of running the country."

Eastwood was mayor of the small town of Carmel, where the population is less than 4,000, in the mid-1980s. He had remained silent for a week before explaining the background to his speech to the newspaper.

The actor and director, who hates using a teleprompter, said aides to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had asked in advance for details of what he would say.

He said: "They vet most of the people, but I told them, 'You can't do that with me, because I don't know what I'm going to say.' It was supposed to be a contrast with all the scripted speeches, because I'm Joe Citizen."

When he flew to Florida by private jet to be the mystery guest at the convention, at the personal request of Mitt Romney, Eastwood still was not sure what he was going to say.

A few hours before his appearance all he could tell Romney aides was "to reassure them that everything I would say would be nice about Mitt Romney," he said.

Eastwood told the Pine Cone that he then had a nap at his hotel, before coming up with three things he wanted to say.

They were that not everyone in Hollywood was on the left, that President Obama had broken promises, and that people should feel free to get rid of politicians not doing a good job.

He got to the convention centre only "15 or 20 minutes" before he was due on stage and was taken to a Green Room, and then backstage to wait for his cue.

Eastwood said: "There was a stool there, and some fella kept asking me if I wanted to sit down. When I saw the stool sitting there, it gave me the idea. I'll just put the stool out there and I'll talk to Mr Obama and ask him why he didn't keep all of the promises he made to everybody."

Eastwood said he was told to speak for five minutes but "when you're out there, it's kind of hard to tell how much time is going by," and the crowd "really seemed to be enjoying themselves." He eventually spoke for well over double that.

He said his stumbles were what happens without a written speech, adding: "I was a mayor, and they're probably thinking I know how to give a speech, but even when I was mayor I never gave speeches. I gave talks."

Afterwards, Eastwood went back to the Green Room, where he listened to Mr Romney's speech.

He said Mr Romney and running mate Paul Ryan later came back stage to thank him. He said: "They were very enthusiastic, and we were all laughing,"